Tidbits From TNT Thursday AM 4-30-2020

TNT:

Tishwash:  Al-Araji: The government has started to act with currency reserves, and this means we are facing an unknown country in the future.

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Bahaa Al-Araji, said Thursday that the government has started to act with currency reserves, which means we are facing an unknown country in the future.

Al-Araji tweeted, through "tensioning", that "oil imports do not exceed $ 50 million per day after paying the costs of production."

He added, "It is noticed that the central bank sold through the currency auction for 10 days, up to 150 million per day, which means that our government began to act with currency reserves, so if the crisis persists for six months, this means that we are facing a" unknown future "country.  link

Tishwash:  Assistant Secretary of State: We want Iraq to be "a master, not a subordinate

US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs David Schenker stressed that his country wants Iraq to be a "master, not a subordinate," of any country.

In response to a question about the exemption issued by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Iraqi government to import electricity from Iran, Schenker said in a statement to Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya channel that Iraq "has taken measures to be independent of the Iranian electricity grid and we think it was useful but not enough."

He added that "Minister Pompeo continued to give exemptions to encourage the Iraqis first to move forward toward independence, and second, to encourage them to form a credible government, based on Iraq's interests regarding our bilateral issues and with regard to meeting the demands and needs of the Iraqi people."

Regarding describing Iraq as a battleground between the United States and Iran, he said, "I do not think this is the right way to describe our relationship with Iraq. We are providing enormous assistance to Iraq while the Iranians have a different approach."

He pointed out that "in the era of Qasim Soleimani ... Qasim Soleimani used to come to Iraq and meet Sunni and Shiite leaders and then tell them who will be their prime minister. We saw the same thing with Soleimani's successor, who came to do the same."

"We engaged in a dialogue on many issues, economic and political, with our Iraqi counterparts," Schenker added. "We are not telling them what to do."

He stressed that the United States does not want Iraq as a "state affiliated to Iran," adding that "this is something we share with the vast majority of Iraqis, and they also want Iraq as a master."   link

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Tishwash:  Next Sunday is a date for a vote on the Al-Kazemi government

Is scheduled to hold a session of parliament next Sunday to give confidence to the government of designate Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

Parliamentary sources told Mawazine News that "it is likely that next Sunday will be a date for a vote on the Al-Kazemi government."

Yesterday, Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi received the ministerial curriculum presented by Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

According to an official statement for Al-Halbousi, that according to the provisions of Article (43 / Second) of the Parliament’s Law, Al-Halbousi decided to form a committee headed by First Deputy Hassan Al-Kaabi and the membership of a number of deputies and advisers to study the ministerial curriculum and submit a report to the parliament on it.  link

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Eccle519:  FYI, and if the vote doesn't go through it's curtains for Parliament. A whole nuther Gov will be voted in that's why (imo) the vote will go through cause those in Parliament want to keep their positions

Harambe:  Reuters: Oil prices surge over 10% amid early signs of U.S. fuel demand recovery https://reut.rs/2xlkIFf

Tishwash:  The Federal Reserve: The American economy needs more support .. and the Treasury Secretary responds

US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin announced Wednesday that he is ready to put more money into new lending programs that have been activated due to the Corona crisis, to support the US economy.

This comes as US Central Bank President Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that the US economy "may decline to an unprecedented level in the second quarter" of 2020 due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

"We do not yet know the size and duration of the economic slowdown, and they are to a large extent subject to the speed of containing the virus," he told a news conference, stressing that the Federal Reserve will seek to ensure "a robust recovery as possible."

To this end, the central bank will use all available tools because the economy "will definitely need more support" than has been provided so far, Powell said.

Treasury Minister Mnuchin revealed that he was holding about $ 259 million out of the $ 2.2 trillion economic package that passed in late March, but he stressed that these funds would not be lending to major companies such as airlines, oil and gas. 

And many airlines have already obtained about $ 25 billion from the payroll assistance program, and companies that receive this assistance must keep employees and their salaries until the end of next September. link

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Mot:  Sunsets Here are Surreal! .... Jackson Hole Wy. ....................